IPEN

In February, IPEN participated in the Central Asia and Eastern Europe Sub-Regional Workshop in Support of the Ratification and Early Implementation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury that took place in Minsk, Belarus. A presentation in Russian was made jointly by Eco-Accord (IPEN Regional Hub for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia), Russia and Center for Environmental Solutions (CES), Belarus.

A new booklet titled, "Eliminate Lead Paint: Protect Children's Health" has been released in conjunction with the African Lead Paint Elimination Project. This booklet introduces the serious and irreversible effects of lead on human health, and outlines how people can be exposed to lead, the economic impacts of lead paint exposu

IPEN is pleased to collaborate with the Canadian Environmental Health Atlas (CEHA), to promote the video "Little Things Matter" in multiple languages across the globe. This 7 minute video provides insights to how extremely low levels of toxins can impact brain development, and illustrates how subtle shifts in the intellectual abilities of individual children have a big impact on the number of children in a population that are challenged or gifted.

IPEN worked with members of Rotary International to bring the story of lead paint to participants in Rotary’s South Asia Literacy Summit held in Pune, India in early February 2015. Dr. Deepak Purohit, Rotary Past District Governor, organized a booth on lead in paint. He also set up meetings with leading Rotarians and a delegation – Satish Sinha, Toxics Link; Leslie Onyon, World Health Organization; and Dr. Archana Patel, International Pediatric Association – who travelled to Pune for the event.

The newsletter features updates from IPEN Participating Organizations on some of their work in the region, including from Nature University, BaliFokus, Medicuss Foundation, Consumers Association of Penang, Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, and the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture. 

The Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project Partner Newsletter for January, 2015 is now available, and contains news about the new, mandatory 90 ppm standard that was established in Nepal at the end of December, 2014. Additionally, the newsletter comments on the launch of the new IPEN African Lead Paint Elimination Project. The Project will take place in four African countries – Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Tanzania.

A new publication, "Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: State of the Problem and Steps Forward," prepared by Chapaevsk Medical Association (Russia), Eco-Accord (Russia) and IPEN, provides generalized information on impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on human health, sources of EDCs releases, and their human exposure routes.